Howard had trouble lifting his shoulder and even found it hard to put on his undershirt in the locker room, Medina reports.

"I'll try (to play) as much as I can,” Howard said. “But I don't want to cause more damage to my shoulder."

Howard suffered a torn labrum in his right shoulder on Jan. 4 and aggravated the injury in a Jan. 23 game against the Memphis Grizzlies. He missed three games in early January. The Lakers were 3-0 in that stretch.

Howard is unsure whether he will play in the Lakers’ next game, on Friday against the Timberwolves in Minneapolis. He said he does not want to sit out games and refused to consider surgery, Medina reports.

"We'll see how it feels (Thursday),” Howard said of his shoulder. “It's in a lot of pain right now."